


Sands of Time

by raptor_moon



Category: Primeval
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-23
Updated: 2012-05-23
Packaged: 2017-11-05 20:50:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/410879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raptor_moon/pseuds/raptor_moon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick gets stuck on the wrong side of an anomaly and receives a cryptic message.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sands of Time

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a secret santa exchange between seasons 3 & 4

*** 

 

He sees Helen in the distance and calls to her. Helen looks down at some object, glances back at Nick and then runs. A light sparkles in the distance. He follows Helen through the anomaly like Alice following the March Hare. He runs, now he’s running through a desert, up a dune with sand slipping under his feet. He reaches the top and sees Claudia standing at the top of the dune, looking away. He turns her to face him and somehow, it’s wrong. She speaks “My name is NOT Claudia Brown!” Then he is falling, falling down again. 

* 

Claudia walked in to the Home Office. She was greeted with a scowl by James Lester as he handed her a file. “I take there has been another anomaly, Sir?” Claudia asked. 

“There’s been an incident. Whether or not it’s another of professor Cutter’s damn anomalies is for you to find out. Well, what are you waiting for?” Lester looked up at her. She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it realizing she was gaping like a fish and really had nothing to say to Lester. She pulled out her mobile and turned to leave, arranging for Cutter’s team and the Special Forces unit to meet her at the site. 

She arrived at the anomaly site slightly after Cutter. Nick was normally so animated and full of energy, it was surprising to see him stifle a yawn. “Are you OK?” 

“Shouldn’t I be asking that of you?” He smiled and turned his full attention to her. His eyes sparked with some of the old energy. She knew she still looked worse for wear after the incident with the Pteranodon and the pterosaurs, but Nick looked worse. Dark circles under his eyes, made him look gaunt and haggard. “I’m recovering, vision’s fine, cuts and bruises healing.” She offered. “An occasional nightmare about the monsters that come through theses things…” She paused, looking up at the anomaly. 

Nick laughed and stepped closer to Claudia, brushing an errant hair away “Aye, I’ve had that problem myself, who wouldn’t with the wee beasties that come through these things.” He was debating as whether or not he would get slapped if tried to kiss Claudia again, when Capt. Ryan cleared his throat behind them. “So what have we observed?” 

“The area is secure. We’ve mapped out the area of damage.” Ryan reported. 

“Evidence of many trees with the tops ripped up as if a large creature or creatures had been feeding on them. Seems this is not the first time the locals have reported strange occurrences here.” Abby added, “Stephen and Connor were trying to locate the anomaly.” 

As Nick’s eyebrow’s shot up in concern, Ryan added, “Two of my men are accompanying them.” As if on cue, the radio crackled to life. “We’ve found a herd of creatures. Connor’s identified them as Plateosaurus. We’ve got two here and Stephen says at least 3 more have come through. 

“Plateosaurus? What size is that? Are they carnivores or herbivores??” Ryan asked, mentally checking the weapons they had on hand. 

“A large Triassic herbivore, trying to herd them back and not get trampled is our main concern.” Cutter responded. 

“It would be better if we could find a way to attract them towards the anomaly rather than frightening them.” Abby offered. 

* 

Three hours later, the team was sore and muddy from chasing dinosaurs through the woods with little success. They would not be coaxed back to the anomaly. The radio crackled to life. “I think the anomaly is starting to weaken,” Connor’s voice broke through nervously. “We need to hurry up!” 

“Ok, get out the flares, fire to try and frighten them towards the anomaly and try to stay out of the way!” Ryan ordered. 

At first the plan seemed to be working, as the large herbivores turned slowly back toward the anomaly, but then one of the smaller creatures, that Abby suspected was a juvenile, became spooked and suddenly the small herd began to run. As team members and soldiers dodged the stampeding animals, chaos quickly ensured. 

“Cutter, Look out!” Ryan cried out as he attempted to make his way to where Nick had gotten trapped between two creatures and the anomaly. One Plateosaurus turned towards Ryan and swiped its tail angrily. The tip of the tail caught Nick squarely under his ribs and lofted him through the air and through the anomaly. 

“No, Nick!” Claudia screamed and tried to run towards the anomaly but Abby grabbed her and held her back. The confused Plateosaurus began to move towards the noise and away from the anomaly. Ryan aimed over the creatures head, hoping gunfire would scare it back towards the anomaly, but in its panicked state, it just kept moving towards him. Suddenly a flare lit the air in front of him, and the Plateosaurus reared up on its hind legs in fright. It turned rapidly and Ryan had to duck under its tail to avoid being the second casualty of the day. He looked up to see where the flare had come from and saw Stephen holding the flare gun and surveying the scene nervously. 

“The anomaly is fading!” Conner yelled as the creatures stampeded back towards the anomaly’s flickering shards. Ryan picked himself off the ground and began a mad dash towards the fading light, throwing himself through the spot where the anomaly was, or had been not a millisecond before. He landed, rolled and lay in a sprawl on the ground. 

“Ryan!” Claudia pushed Abby off and ran down the hill towards Ryan’s prone form, but Stephen reached him first, skidding to a halt as Ryan moaned, cussed and rolled over. “Dammit!” 

“Are you ok?” Stephen asked, placing a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. 

Ryan pushed off Stephen’s hand and sat up, “I’m fine; but Dr. Cutter…” 

“Wow, you almost got spliced by that closing anomaly.” Connor began, and got an elbow in his gut from Abby. 

Stephen offered Ryan a hand-up commenting, “That was very dangerous to try. Hopefully Nick will be okay until this anomaly re-opens.” 

“Nick!” Claudia began and bit her lip. The others could tell she was trying to be professional and was fighting back tears, so they looked away while Ryan moved next to her. 

“I will arrange a watch rotation and set a team on standby. We will be ready to go through and get him back as soon as it reopens.” Ryan said, trying to reassure her with his presence. 

“If anyone can survive there, Nick can. He’s not the most practical, but he is knowledgeable and a survivor.” Stephen added, then grabbed Connor’s arm before he could speak, “Let’s see what data you’ve managed to collect on this thing to see if we can get an idea on its return. 

* 

Nick awoke with a pounding headache. He didn’t remember getting into the whiskey last night. He raised his hand to his face and felt something warm and sticky. Was he bleeding? He tried to roll over and was overcome by a wave a nausea. As he heaved, he was struck by extreme pain. Ok, concussion, bruised or broken ribs, hopefully no internal injuries. He stared up into a blazing sun. Need to find shelter, water. He could see the Plateosaurus moving away and figured following his best bet. He slogged away through the sandy soil, climbing up a rocky, sandy hillside that he slithered down almost as quickly as he tried to climb up. As he reached the top, he collapsed to his knees. As he tried to rise again, he passed out and half-slid, half-fell down the other side. 

* 

Claudia stood staring at the place where the anomaly had glittered not half an hour earlier. A tear slid down her cheek. As she heard footsteps behind her, she quickly wiped the tear away. 

“Miss Brown,” when she didn’t answer, he risked breaking out of his professional role and used her given name, “Claudia,” she turned to him and made eye contact at that, “Connor has found evidence that this is another repeating anomaly, so it’s just a matter of waiting.” 

“But Nick was hurt, we don’t know how badly…” 

“We have a medic on standby, and we …” 

“But we don’t know how long until it reopens…” 

Ryan gripped her shoulders and gave her a little shake, “Claudia, we all know you care about Professor Cutter…” 

She started to protest, “I don’t…” 

“Even if you won’t admit it to yourself,” he interrupted. “We will get him back. Connor is still getting anomalous magnetic field readings, so he thinks it will be sooner rather than later. You need to pull yourself together.” 

She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, gathering strength, and then she pushed him away. “Thanks, Ryan.” She sighed, “I best give Lester and update now.” 

* 

Nick saw a figure at the top of the dune, just like in his dream. But this time, when he called out they turned toward him. He tried to struggle uphill, but slid down and collapsed. He could go no further. Thus he was surprised when he heard footsteps and felt strong hands turning him over. “Connor?” Nick looked up into Connor’s eyes. Connor was still Connor, but somehow he wasn’t. His brain tried to process the differences. No waistcoat or hat, yellow hooded sweatshirt instead. His hair was shorter, and he looked older and wiser. He looked as if life had beaten him down. His eyes, they were filled with sadness, deeper than after his friend Tom died, but less acute. “Still grieving for your friend Tom?” Had he said that aloud? He was in worse shape than he thought. 

Connor choked back a sob, “Tom? Since then we’ve lost Ryan, and Stephen, and you! We almost lost Jenny, but she survived and left the program before it could kill her too! Don’t you understand? This isn’t your timeline! You’re dead here! 

“Ryan & Stephen dead? I’m dead? And who’s this Jenny? Connor, what’s are you talking about? Are you ok? I thought I was the one with the head injury.” 

“Connor!” a female voice shouts out, scolding him. Is it Abby? She walks into his line of sight. Her hair is longer and she looks, not so much older as timeworn as well. 

“I’m sorry, its just…I’ve said too much, I know. Help me get him home.” Abby and Connor each take an arm as Nick is half-walked half dragged back to where he was knocked through the anomaly. 

“Now we wait for his anomaly to reopen.” They sat in silence for a while, then Connor spoke again, “Nick, 8 years in the past have driven your wife insane. You can’t trust anything Helen says. She is going to change the future, blame you, and eventually kill you if you make the mistake of following her.” 

Nick just stared in disbelief. His wife Helen, she would never do anything like what Connor was saying. He didn’t know her…. And since when had Connor called him Nick! 

“Connor, are you insane? You’re the one who always says don’t mess with the timelines!” Abby pulled on his arm, trying to pull him away from Dr. Cutter. 

“Can it get any worse? We can’t control the anomalies, we haven’t changed the future, Hell we can’t even get Danny home…he’s stuck in the past!” 

“Well, we will be again, too if we don’t go soon.” Abby said, tugging on Connor’s arm. 

“No, Abby. This world is wrong. The timeline is just wrong! You go – I just don’t care anymore. I have to believe there is a timeline somewhere that is still ok. I…I can’t do this anymore…” Connor stopped and turned away, tears streaming down his face. 

This is not the young man I comforted on the death of his friend just a few weeks ago, Nick thought. This young man has seen too much pain. He placed his hand on Connor’s shoulder like he had before. “Come here…I don’t fully understand what you’re telling me, but I’ll try. But you can’t bail out now, Abby needs you. Go!” 

“No, as soon as you are safely through the anomaly, but not before.” An alarm blared from the device in Connor’s pocket as the anomaly flared to life before them. 

“You can detect the anomalies now? That’s great!” Nick attempted to stand, and staggered. Connor and Abby grabbed his arms. 

“We can lock them now too, Connor figured that out!” Abby added. 

“Abby, the timelines!” Connor protested. 

Finally, a spark of the old Connor thought Nick and he smiled. Nick felt that maybe this timeline’s Connor and Abby would be alright. Now he had to try and save his own. He stepped through the anomaly, and collapsed. 

* 

Connor had set up a hodge-podge of equipment around the site. He had worked tirelessly. At first he had panicked over the Professor’s absence, but Stephen and Abby had put his nervous energy into trying to study and record data should the anomalies reappear. “The magnetic field is increasing. I think the anomaly is going to…” with a flash of light the anomaly reappeared, shards glittering in the air. 

Ryan was prepared to order his men through immediately, but Stephen held up a hand. “Connor is the anomaly stable?” 

After a brief pause, Connor answered, “Yes, it’s stable.” At that moment, Nick stepped through the anomaly and collapsed. 

“Medic!” Ryan’s voice rang through the air as he and Stephen rushed towards the professor. 

The medic got to work as Claudia and the team looked on. Cutter was loaded into an ambulance and was rushed off to Accident and Emergency while the team cleaned up the site and Ryan assigned soldiers to monitor the anomaly. 

Within the hour they were at the hospital awaiting word. Soon the doctor came to report. “He’s stable. Dehydrated and a concussion, possibly bruised or broken ribs. We are sending him for x-rays now. After that he should be able to go home, but he will need to have someone with him for the next few days.” 

After much arguing it was decided that Ryan and Stephen would get a groggy Nick home, while Abby took Claudia to pick up a few things before dropping her at Cutter’s home. She would watch tonight while Stephen would be by in the morning and Ryan in the afternoon. As Stephen and Ryan helped the professor get settled, he could not help but notice the quizzical way he stared at them. 

“Nick, what IS it?’ Stephen finally asked. 

“If I trust Helen, Connor said you and Ryan will both die, and Claudia will cease to be...” Nick spoke as if to himself. 

“Connor hasn’t spoken to you…you aren’t making sense.” Stephen responded. 

“It’s just the concussion feeding on your fears. I’ve seen it happen before. Things will seem better in the morning. Get some rest professor.” Ryan reassured. 

“I’ll be here in the morning to give Claudia a break. Be a good patient for her, Cutter, she was worried about you.” Stephen smiled. They heard footsteps on the stairs, and soon Miss Brown poked her head into the room. 

“Ok, guys – out! Dr. Cutter needs some rest. I’ll be just down the hall in your guest room if you need me.” She ordered. 

“Sorry the place is such a mess.” Nick protested. 

“Hush now, rest.” Claudia responded as she shooed the men out of the room in front of her and turned out the light. 

As the men headed out, Ryan stopped briefly. “Call us if you need anything.” 

“Thanks,” she paused to give both men a hug; her relief that Nick would be ok was evident. 

* 

He sees Helen in the distance and calls to her. Helen looks down at some object, glances back at Nick and then runs. A light sparkles in the distance. He follows Helen through the anomaly like Alice following the March Hare. He runs, now he’s running through a desert, up a dune with sand slipping under his feet. He reaches the top and sees Claudia standing at the top of the dune, looking away. He turns her to face him and somehow, it’s wrong. She speaks,”My name is NOT Claudia Brown!” Then he is falling, falling down again. He looks up into the face of Connor. With a hat, but not his usual hat, a tall oversized stovepipe. I’m Hatter, he announces, pulling Nick to his feet. And you are not supposed to be here. If the red queen finds out… Hatter is interrupted by a shrill cry “Off with his head!” Nick turns to see Helen. She raises a weapon towards him. She fires! 

Nick awakes in a cold sweat. He is not aware that he had cried out, but Claudia is suddenly beside him. She rests her cool hand on his forehead. 

“Claudia, is that you?” He asks and she hears the fear and confusion in his voice. 

She lies down on the bed beside him. “Of course it’s me, who else would it be?” 

“Helen…” 

“You still love her?” 

“That ended when I found out she swapped our marriage for a package tour in the Permian era.” 

“But you still care about her. She saved my life. It was much less complicated when she was just the enemy.” 

“We can’t trust Helen…if we do she will destroy the future…she will destroy us.” 

“Shh…you’re just having bad dreams.” She paused a moment, processing what he had said. “Us?” she raised an eyebrow at him, “By the way, back when the pterosaurs attacked us, you kissed me – on the lips.” 

“I know. I remember that.” Nick smiled at the thought. 

“You do know sexual harassment is a serious disciplinary offence in the civil service.” 

“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again, please don’t hold it against me.” 

“Oh, but I intend to.” She saw Nick’s confusion, “When you went through that anomaly today, I thought you weren’t coming back. I thought I’d lost you. I don’t want it to ever happen again.” 

Nick held a finger to her lips. She pressed her body against his. His mouth opened in a small o of surprise and she quickly covered in with hers. The kiss deepened and Nick tried to roll over but was halted by the pain in his bruised ribs. 

“Lie still. You’re hurt. Let me take care of you tonight.” Which she did, and then they both slid into a dreamless sleep. 

* 

Epilogue 

Lester sat at his desk reading the report. “So the C4 planted in the cage killed the mother as well as all the juvenile future predators?” 

“Yes, so while there were casualties, there were no fatalities. All the men should be able to return to full duty by the end of next month.” Captain Ryan reported. 

“Whose idea was that?” Lester raised an eyebrow. 

Ryan smiled, “Amazingly, Professor Cutter insisted on a way to remotely destroy the future predators. He was certain of a double cross from Helen Cutter. He had approached Connor, who immediately thought of the remote explosive approach, which Special Forces could provide.” 

“And what’s the status on the betting pool?” Lester asked in the same tone of voice he had inquired on the report. 

“Pool, Sir?” Ryan looked down nervously. 

“What’s the most popular date for that mad scientist to get up the nerve and propose already…Never mind, put me in for a tenner for Christmas Eve. That’s my prediction for the romantic fool.” Lester tossed the note on the desk. 

“Yes, sir.” Ryan smirked as he picked up the money. The professor wasn’t the only romantic fool around. 

***


End file.
